Justice League: Futures End #1 (DC Comics)

So the mastermind behind this entire prison break on Mars? Captain Atom, who seems to be doing his best Dr. Manhattan impersonation, declaring that he still doesn’t get why he was locked up (even after killing thousands) and wants off the planet. He’s super strong and can bend the world to his will (though he still needs a starship to leave the planet. Go figure). Can the Justice League actually stop him?

So how was the resolution to this two-parter? It ended fairly well, though I’m a bit let down. The issue is mostly just one long fight scene with the heroes against Captain Atom and the other supervillains. Besides Atom, there’s not much in the way of character growth or development here outside of a few lines. We don’t even get to learn more about the future and what has happened in the five years outside of Captain Atom’s vague involvement.

I’ll give Mongul one thing, that took some balls to say directly to the guy’s face.

That being said, the writing by Jeff Lemire is pretty good like before. The characters still feel in-character and are acting like themselves, though Captain Atom’s turn is a bit goofy and very familiar. The dialogue is solid, with decent lines here and there; the pacing is quick, but so quick that the story goes by in a flash. The way the heroes finally stop Captain Atom is nice, if a bit predictable. The ending though is… abrupt. It feels like we ran out of pages and the story just decided to stop. Regardless, it’s not a bad issue overall.

Jed Dougherty continues doing the artwork for the book (so at least there is consistency) and his art remains… problematic. Again, he’s not a bad artist per se, it’s just his work is not best suited for a Justice League book. His characters, while accurate looking, look off in the face department, make some bizarre looking expressions and his action sequences looks rather static. So when the entire book is mostly just a fight scene, his work isn’t the best at depicting it or making it look all that exciting. On the flipside though, the coloring by Gabe Eltaeb looks rather nice and he ameliorates the flashiness and energy levels of the visuals.

Is It Good?

Justice League: Futures End #1 was a good issue, but it felt like it could have been better. It needed a better artist and it needed to be more than just a fight scene with little else to it. The writing is definitely good here and enjoyable, but it could have been better.

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